All-purpose door frame



S. DAVIS Jan. 23, 1968 ALL-PURPOSE DOOR FRAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 29, 1964 INVENTOR SIMMIE L. DAVIS WZLW W ATTORNEYS S. DAVIS Jan. 23, 1968 ALL- PURPOSE DOOR FRAME 3 Sheets$heet 2 Original Filed April 29, 1964 INVENTOR. SIMMIE L4 DAVIS,

ATTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet S. DAVIS ALLPURPOSE DOOR FRAME Jan. 23, 1968 Original Filed April 29, 1964 INVENTOR.

SIMMIE L. DAVIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,364,624 ALL-PUIEGSE DOOR FIRM/1E Simmie Davis, 1503 E. Jackson St., lensacola, Fla. 32501 Continuation of application Ser. No. 363,379, Apr. 29, 1964. This application Dec. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 609,264 2 Claims. (C1. 49505) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A door frame structure adjustable for door openings of difierent thicknesses, comprising a primary molding assembly, a secondary molding assembly slideably re ceived in the primary molding assembly, and a stop member connected to the primary molding assembly. Extension pieces are connectable to the molding assemblies to accommodate all thicknesses larger than the usual structures.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 363,379 filed on Apr. 29, 1964, now abandoned.

Background of the invention It is, of course, recognized that a wide variety of metallic door frame constructions have been heretofore proposed. Amon' the problems which militated against general acceptance of such structures and hence the mass production thereof, is that of providing adequate adjustability after manufacture and delivery to the construction site to compensate for variations of wall thickness and of the side at which the door is to be hung as well as the direction in which the door is to swing. Satisfactory mass production may only be achieved by a standardization of the constructions required to accommodate a wide variety of wall thicknesses and preferred hinge mountings so as to avoid the individual manufacture of these constructions and their assembly during the manufacturing thereof. Heretofore, it has been required that a plant manufacture and individually modify the basic construction of a metallic door frame or certain elements thereof before shipment in order to meet particular individual requirements as to hinging and wall thicknesses.

Since these requirements are determined in the original building plans, it is customary that the manufacturer be supplied with an order specifying in detail the required features of each door. Shipment of the frames in accordance with such requirements is frequently needed well in advance of completion of the building since the frames must be installed in the primary stages of construction. This frequently results in the frames deteriorating or becoming damaged during the construction of the building. Needless to say, the manufacturer is required to either stock a prohibitively large inventory of frames for each category of door required, or must be prepared for immediate manufacture of individual frames as the specifications are submitted.

Summary of the invention It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a door frame construction including standard elements susceptible to mass production which may be readily cut to conform with particular requirements as to door size. A further object of the present invention to provide a means by which a door may be selectively installed by the builder to determine on which side of the door frame the door is to be hinged and in which direction the door is to be opened. It is also among the objects of the invention to provide a header construction formed by use of a standard element also used in the hinge and strike jambs. A further important object of the present invention is to provide prefabricated hinge and strike jamb 3,364,624 Patented Jan. 23, 1968 Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention as installed and with a door in position.

FIG. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the header of the present embodiment of the invention as taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal transverse sectional view of the hinge jamb of the present embodiment of the invention as taken on line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal transverse sectional view of the strike jamb of the present embodiment of the invention as taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the header as attached to a jamb prior to installation.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational View of the primary element of the hinge jamb of the present invention shown in section in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a similar side elevational view of the primary element of the strike jamb of the present invention shown in section in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary front elevation of the strike jamb.

FIG. 9 is an exploded vertical cross-sectional View of the header showing the means by which the present invention may be adjusted to fit various wall thicknesses.

Description of the embodiments These figures and the following detailed description disclose a specific embodiment of the invention, but the invention is not limited to the details disclosed since it may be embodied in other equivalent forms.

The present invention comprises generally a header 10, a hinge jamb 11, and a strike jamb 12. The header 10 is attached to the jambs 11 and 12 forming a door frame to position a door 14 in an opening in a wall 13. The hinge jamb 11 supports the door 14 for pivoting and the strike jamb 12 limits the swing of the door 14 and holds it in a closed position.

The opening in the wall 13 is formed by placing a wooden header buck H and two wooden jamb bucks I having approximately the same thickness and width as the header buck H in the wall 13 as construction of the wall 13 progresses. A wooden spacer strip 34 having a width approximately equal to the thickness of the wooden bucks H and I is attached to the edges of the Wooden bucks H and I on both sides of the wall 13. The header buck H and the jamb bucks I are standard sizes such as 2 x 4" or 2" x 6" or 2" X 8".

The header 10 comprises a primary facing molding 15 and a secondary facing molding 16 positioned with respect to each other by alignment plates 18 and a doorstep 19.

The primary facing molding 15- includes a primary facing channel 20 and a primary jamb angle 21 integral with the primary facing channel 20. The primary facing channel 20 is a U-shaped member having the two parallel legs 40 substantially narrower than the base 41 and eX- tending outwardly perpendicular to the base 41. The primary jamb angle 21 is an L-shaped member having one leg 42 shorter than the other leg 44. The outermost edge of the leg 42 is integral with one of the legs 40 of the primary facing channel 20 at its outermost edge,

and extends outwardly therefrom so as to place the leg 42 of the primary jamb angle 21 parallel to the base 41 of the primary facing channel 20 but extending away from the primary facing channel 20 and the leg 44 parallel to the legs 40 and extending away from the primary facing channel 20. The primary facing molding and the primary jamb angle 21 are formed of thin metal, and have a length equal to the width of the door 14. The primary facing channel has a length equal to the width of the door 14, plus two times the width of the primary facing channel 20, and is positioned with respect to the primary jamb angle 21 so that equal portions of the primary facing channel 20 extend past each of the primary jamb angles 21. The extending ends of the base 41 are upturned to form an end plate 41 having the same height as the legs 40.

The extending edge of the leg 44 of the primary jarnb angle is formed into a doorstop catch 24. The doorstop catch 24 is formed by first bending the extending edge of the leg 44 so that it is perpendicular to the rest of the leg 44 and extends in a direction opposite to that in which the leg 42 of the primary jamb angle 21 extends from the leg 44. This bent portion of the leg 44 is further bent so that it extends back over and parallel to the rest of the leg 44 leaving a recess 25 just sufi'icient to receive the edge of the doorstop 19 between the bent portion of the leg 44 forming the doorstop catch 24 and the leg 44.

Attached to the side of the leg 44 of the primary jamb angle 21 opposite that of the doorstop catch 24 are a plurality of alignment plates 18. The alignment plates 18 are rectangular metal plates having a length greater than the width of the leg 44 and extending outwardly past the extending edges of the leg 44. Just inwardly of the outermost extending edge of each of the alignment plates 18 and on the same side thereof as the leg 44 is attached an adjusting doorstop catch 23. The adjusting doorstop catches 23 have extending catch legs 27 which extend to the outermost edge of the alignment plates 18 and form adjustment recesses 29 between the catch legs 27 and the alignment plates 18.

Extending through and threadedly engaging each of the alignment plates 18 between the extending edge of the leg 44 of the primary jamb angle 21 and the adjusting doorstop catch 23 is an alignment screw 28. The alignment screws 28 have bearing heads 60 at their one end and a driving slot 61 at their other end and are positioned in the alignment plates 18 so that the driving slots 61 extend outwardly from the same side of the alignment plates 18 as the adjustable doorstop catches 23. Thus, the bearing heads 69 extend outwardly from the other side of the alignment plates 18.

Integral with each end of the leg 44 and extending perpendicularly outward therefrom is a primary attachment tab 36. The tabs 36 extend outwardly from the same side of the leg 44 as the leg 42 of the primary jamb angle 21 and have a plurality of holes (not shown) therethrough that allow the primary facing member 15 of the header 10 to be attached to the hinge jamb 11 and the strike jamb 12.

The secondary facing molding 16 is comprised of a secondary facing channel 31} having the same size and shape as the primary facing channel 20; and, a secondary jamb angle 31 having the same general size and shape as the primary jamb angle 21 is integral with and extends outwardly from the secondary facing channel 30 in the same manner as the primary jamb angle 21 extends outwardly from the primary facing channel 20. A leg 33 of the secondary jamb angle 31 corresponding to the leg 44 of the primary jamb angle 21 is slightly narrower than the leg 44 and no catch corresponding to the doorstop catch 23 is formed on the outermost extending edge thereof. An extension 13 having a length equal to that of the leg 33 is integral with and extends collinearly outward from the outermost extending edge of the leg 33 of the secondary jamb angle 31. The extension 13 is segmented at the edge of the leg 33 so that the extension 13 may be removed from the leg 33 by hand. Thus, the secondary facing molding 16 has the same general crosssectional shape as the primary facing molding 15.

Integral with each end of the secondary jamb angle 31 is a secondary attachment tab 37 extending perpendicularly outwardly from the jamb angle 31 in the same manner as the primary attachment tab 36 extends from the jamb angle 21. The secondary attachment tabs 37 have a length equal to the width of the secondary jarnb angle 31 and a height equal to the height of the primary attachment tab 36.

The hinge jamb 11 comprises a primary facing molding 15 and a secondary facing molding 16. The primary facing molding 15 has a cross-section identical to that of the primary facing molding 15, and the secondary facing molding 1 has a cross-section identical to that of the secondary facing molding 16 with an extension (not shown) thereon corresponding to the extension 13 on the secondary facing molding 16. The length of the primary facing molding 15' and the secondary facing molding 16 is equal to the height of the door 14 plus the height of the attachment tab 36.

A plurality of alignment hinges 70 are attached to the surface of the primary facing molding 15 starting inwardly of each end of the primary facing molding 15 and being equally spaced along the primary facing molding 15 therebetween in a manner similar to that in which the alignment plates 18 are attached to the primary facing molding 15. An extension leaf 71 of each alignment hinge 71} is sufiiciently long so that it extends across the primary facing molding 15 and extends outwardly therefrom in a manner similar to that in which the alignment plates 18 extend outwardly from the primary facing molding 15.

A leaf 71a of the hinge 70 to which the door 14 is attached extends outwardly from the surface of the primary facing molding 15 in a direction opposite to that at which the extension leaf 71 extends and can be swung in an are so that the leaf 71a of the hinge 70 attached to a door 14 is adjacent to the primary facing molding 15'. Thus, when the door 14 is in a closed position, the leaf 71a of the hinge 70 to which the door 14 is attached and the edge of the door 14 attached to the hinges 70 are adjacent the primary facing molding 15.

Midway between adjacent hinges 70 is an alignment plate 18' that extends across and is attached to the primary facing molding 15' in the same manner as the extension leaf 71 of the hinge 70 and extends outwardly from the primary facing molding 15 in the same manner as the alignment plates 18 extend outwardly from the primary facing molding 15 of the header 10.

Attached just inwardly of the outermost extending end of each of the extension leaves 71 of the alignment hinges '79 is an adjusting doorstop catch 23' which extends to the outermost edge of the extension leaves 71 in the same manner as the adjusting doorstop catch 23 extends to the outermost edge of the alignment plates 18. Likewise, an adjusting doorstop catch 23' is attached to each of the alignment plates 18 attached to the primary facing molding 15'.

An alignment screw 28' threadedly engages the exten sion leaf 71 of each alignment hinge 70 between the edge of the primary facing molding 15' and the adjusting doorstop catch 23' and is positioned in the same manner as the alignment screws 28 in the alignment plates 18. An alignment screw 28' also extends through each of the alignment plates 18 in the same manner and location as the alignment screws 28 extend through the alignment plates 18.

The strike jamb 12 comprises a primary facing molding 15" and a secondary facing molding 16". The primary facing molding 15" has the same size and shape as the primary facing molding 15' and the secondary facing molding 16" has the same size and shape as the secondary facing molding 16'. The primary facing molding 15" has a plurality of alignment plates 18 attached to the primary facing molding 15" in the same manner as the alignment plates 13 are attached to the primary facing member 15 of the header 10. Also a plurality of adjusting doorstop catches 23 are positioned on the extending ends of the alignment plates 18" and alignment screws 28" threadedly engage the alignment plates 18 in the same manner as the alignment screws 23 engage the alignment plates 18 respectively.

A first strike plate cutout 50 is formed in the primary facing molding 15" of the strike jamb 21 at a distance from one end of the primary facing molding 15" which is equal to the standard distance from the floor of a building to the handle of a door in a wall of that building. A second strike plate cutout 50' is located a distance from the opposite end of the primary facing molding 15 equal to the standard distance from the floor of a building to the handle of a door in a wall of that building. The first and second strike plate cutouts 5i and 50' are substantially rectangular in shape and extend inwardly from that edge of the leg 4-4 of the primary facing 15" adjacent the leg 42".

The strike plate 51' is adjustably positioned in either the first strike plate cutout 50 or the second strike plate cutout 50 depending on the specific swing of the door 14. The strike plate 51 has a hole 52 therein which the lock in the door 14 engages when the door 14 is installed in the present invention.

A blank strike plate 54 is positioned in the strike plate cutout Si) or 59' in which the strike plate 51 is not positioned. The blank strike plate 54 has the same general shape as the strike plate 51 and serves to cover up the strike plate cutout 59 and 59' that is exposed after the strike plate 51 is installed.

In order that the header 10, the hinge jamb 11 and the strike jamb 12 may be expanded to any size wall, an adjustment strip 55 is provided for each. The adjustment strip 55 is segmented into sub-strips having widths equal to the increments by which lumber is made such as two inches, four inches, and eight inches. Thus, the desired width of adjustment strip 55 is determined and the adjustment strip 55 is separated by hand along one of the segments. Then the adjustment strip 55 is ready for installation in the present invention.

Extension catches 56 are used in conjunction with each of the adjustment strips 55 to adjust the header 10, the hinge jamb 11 and the strike jamb 12 to walls of various thicknesses and has a length equal to the header 10, the hinge jamb 11 and the strike jamb 12 respectively. The extension catches 56 have a rectangular cross-section and a groove 58 extends inwardly from each of the opposite sides thereof, and is just sufficiently wide to receive the adjustment strips 55 or the secondary facing moldings 16, 15' and 16".

Installation In order to begin installation of the present invention, the direction of swing of the door 14 must be determined. This determines the position of the hinge jamb 11 and the strike jamb 12 in the opening for the door 14 in the wall 13.

After the direction of swing of the door 14 is determined, the primary facing molding 15 is placed on the side of the wall 13 from which the door 14 will swing and on the side of the opening from which the door 14 will swing. The primary facing molding 15" of the strike jamb 12 is positioned on the same side of the wall 13 as the primary facing molding 15' and on the opposite side of the opening in the wall 13 from that which the primary facing molding 15 is placed.

The primary facing molding 15 of the header is attached to the uppermost extending ends of the strike jamb 12 and the hinge jamb 11 so that the primary facing channels 20, 20' and 20" of the header 16, the hinge jamb 11, and the strike jamb 12, respectively, all lie in the same plane. This is accomplished by extending a plurality of screws 75 through the attachment tabs 36 at each end of the leg 44' of the hinge jamb 11 which is adjacent one f the leg 44 of the hinge jamb 11 which is adjacent one of the attachment tabs 36 and the upper end of the leg 44- of the strike jamb 12 which is adjacent the other attachment tab 36. Thus, a primary molding assembly 63 is formed by the primary facing moldings 15, 15', and 15" of the header 10, the hinge jamb 11 and the strike jamb 12.

The primary molding assembly 63 is positioned within the opening in the wall 13 so that the primary jamb angles 21, 21, and 21" of the header 10, the hinge jamb 11, and the strike jamb 12 extend into the opening in the wall 13 and the primary facing channels 2-9, 26, and 21)" are adjacent the wooden spacer strip 34 attached to the wooden bucks H and J. The alignment screws 23, 2S, and 28" in the alignment plates 18, 1S, nad 18" and the hinges 71) are adjusted by drivingly inserting a screwdriver (not shown) in the slots 61 of the alignment screws 28, 28, and 28" so that the primary molding assembly 63 is held plumb within the opening within the wall 13 by the bearing heads 61 60', and 6%" bearing against the wooden bucks H and J.

After the primary molding assembly 63 is aligned within the opening in the wall 13, the primary molding assembly 63 is attached to the wooden spacer strips 34 by extending wood screws 62 through holes (not shown), in the primary facing channels kit), 26' and 20" and into the Wooden spacer strip 34. The primary molding assembly 63 is attached to the wooden bucks H and J by extending a wood screw 64 through a hole (not shown) in each of the alignment plates 18, 18, and 13" and each extension leaf 71 of the ali nment hinges '76 and into the adjacent wooden buck H or I.

The secondary facing moldings 16, 16', and 16" are attached together in the same manner as the primary facing moldings 15, 15', and 15 by using screws 76 extending through the tabs 37 to engage the jamb angles 31' and 3 to form a secondary molding assembly 65 which is placed in the opposite side of the opening in the wall 13 from the primary molding assembly 63.

If wall 13 is sufficiently narrow, the extensions 13 are removed from the secondary molding assembly 65 by hand and the secondary molding assembly 65 is positioned within the opening in the wall 13 so that the extending ends of the secondary jamb angles 31, 31 and 31" extend into the adjustment recesses 29, 29, and 29" formed by the adjusting doorstop catches 23, 23, and 23". In this position the secondary facing channels 30, 39 and 30 are adjacent the wooden spacer strip 34 around the opening in the wall 13 on the opposite side of the wall 13 from the primary molding assembly 63; and the secondary molding assembly 65 is attached to the spacer strip 34 by extending wood screws 66 through holes (not shown) in the secondary facing channels 30, 30, and 39 and engaging the wooden spacer strip 34.

If the Wall 13 is sufficiently thick, the extensions 13 are not removed from the secondary molding assembly 65 and the secondary molding assembly 65 is then attached to the spacer strip 34 in the same manner as heretofore described by extending the extensions 13 into the spaces 29, 29', and 29" in the primary molding assembly 61.

If the wall 13 is so thick that the secondary facing moldings 16, 16', and 16" will not cover the exposed bucks H and J, the adjustment strips 55 are separated by hand and placed along the corresponding jambs 11 and 12 and the header 16 so that they extend into the spaces 29, 29, and 29". The extending edges of adjustment strips 55 are inserted into one of the grooves 58 in the extension catches 56, and wooden wedges 81 are positioned back of the extension catches 5% so that the adjustment strips 55 are collinear with the legs 44, 44, and 44 of the primary molding assembly 63. Wood screws 81 are then extended through holes (not shown) in the extension catches S6 and through the wooden wedges 80 to engage the bucks H and I and attach the extension catches 56 to the bucks H and I. This process may be repeated so long as necessary to cover the exposed bucks H and I by inserting other adjustment strips 55 into the unoccupied groove 58 of the attached extension catches 56 and attaching other extension catches 56 to the bucks H and I in the manner heretofore described.

When the amount of the bucks H and I left unexposed is such that the addition of the secondary molding assembly 65 will cover them, the secondary molding assembly 65 is installed by placing the extending end of the legs 33, 33', and 33" of the secondary molding assembly 65 into the unoccupied grooves 58 of the last attached extension catches 56 and attaching the secondary facing channels 39, 30, and 30" to the spacer strip 34 in the manner heretofore described.

A doorstop is clipped into place into the doorstop catch 24 formed into the primary jamb angles 21, 21', and 21 and the extension catches 23, 23, and 23". The doorstop 19 is a U-shaped member having an integral inwardly extending hook 74- at each of the extending edges thereof. The doorstop 19 is of a sufiicient size and of mate rial such that the resiliency of the sides thereof allow the doorstop 19 to be snapped into position by hand and yet be fixedly positioned by the hooks 74.

This completes the installation of the present invention and the prefitted door 14 may now be installed by attaching it to the hinges 60.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

WVhat is claimed as invention is:

1. A metallic frame for framing an opening in a wall, said frame comprising a primary molding assembly and a secondary molding assembly positioned on opposite sides of the opening and movable with respect to each other, a stop member for checking movement of a door with respect to said frame, said stop member being removably attached to said primary molding assembly and defining a slot with said primary molding assembly, and a separate bridging means for adjusting said primary molding assembly with said secondary molding assembly so as to accommodate different wall thicknesses, said bridging means comprising an adjustment member and an extension catch defining slots on opposite sides thereof, said adjustment member having one of its edges received in the slot defined by said stop member and said primary molding assembly and the other of its edges received in a slot of said extension catch, and said secondary molding assembly being received in the other slot of said extension catch, for bridging the space between said primary molding assembly and said secondary molding assembly as they are positioned against the wall within the opening.

2. In a metallic door frame for framing an opening in a wall, a primary molding assembly, a secondary molding assembly positionable with respect to each other as to form opposite sides of said door frame and a variable width bridging means positionable between said primary and said secondary molding assemblies, said primary molding assembly having a first jarnb member of fixed Width extending into said opening and defining a portion of the width of said door frame, said first jamb member carrying a catch member on that edge extending into said opening, said catch member effective to slidably receive the extending edge of said variable width bridging means, said secondary molding assembly having a second jamb member of selectable variable Width extending into the opening from that side opposite the primary assembly, said second jamb member having a selectable variable width defined by a plurality of selectively detachable segments, said variable bridging means including an adjustable strip divided into manually detachable segments along the length of said strips and an extension catch member attachable to the wall and effective to slidably receive an edge of the adjustable strip in one side thereof and the edge of the second jamb member in the opposite side thereof, said primary molding assembly, second molding assembly and said variable width bridging means defining the total width of the door frame, said primary molding assembly having means for adjustably positioning said assembly with respect to said wall, said means comprising a threaded member, threadedly extending through and engaging said first jamb member, said threaded member effective to engage the Wall therebehind and selectively change the distance between said Wall and said first jamb member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,775,720 9/1930 Grable 52-217 X 2,629,143 2/1953 Spector et al 49-165 2,730,773 1/1956 Logue 4 -380 2,913,777 11/1959 Viets 49-380 X 3,044,130 7/ 1962 Mehaffy 49-67 KENNETH DOWNEY, Pi'ifl'ldl') Examiner. 

